Monday, September 9, 2013

Blog 139 - Maid of Secrets

In this breathtaking start to a series, a secret
society of young women make up Elizabeth I’s most trusted royal guard. God Save
the Queen—or the Maids will.

Orphan Meg Fellowes makes her living picking
pockets—until she steals from the wrong nobleman. Instead of rotting in prison
like she expected, she’s whisked away to the court of Queen Elizabeth and
pressed into royal service, where shejoins four other remarkable girls in the
Maids of Honor, the Queen’s secret society of protectors.

Meg’s natural abilities as a spy prove useful in this
time of unrest. The Spanish Court is visiting, and with them come devious plots
and hidden political motives. As threats to the kingdom begin to mount, Meg
can’t deny her growing attraction to one of the dashing Spanish courtiers. But
it’s hard to trust her heart in a place where royal formalities and masked
balls hide the truth: Not everyone is who they appear to be. With danger
lurking around every corner, can she stay alive—and protect the crown?

My Review

Cover: I
really love the cover and how it lets the reader imagine what this story is
going to be about. It made me wonder what secrets is this maid going to be
keeping and from whom is she keeping?

Things that I
like: I really enjoyed the beginning and the ending of the novel. At both
the beginning of the novel and the ending there seemed to be action and
surprises around every turn of the story. I really enjoyed the plan towards the
end of the novel that the main character, Meg Fellowes, has in saving her
fellow maids and the crown all at once.

Things that I
didn’t like: However, I didn’t enjoy the pacing throughout the middle of
the novel. I was expecting action every time I turned the page and for Meg or
one of the other girls to be getting into something or getting into some kind
of trouble and there was nothing. They seemed to be either sitting around
chatting, going through their lessons on being special maids to the crown and
or they were walking through the castle looking for passageways and how to get
to certain areas of the castle faster it seemed.

Overall: I
enjoyed reading the book, even though the pacing and the middle portion of the
novel seemed a little off to me. I give this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.